Ahoy and all that, ye scurvy dogs! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which be celebrated by embracin’ all manner of speech that be makin’ the copy editors here at Britannica howl in pain. Make no mistake, today be about the joy of takin’ to the high sea and… err… well, today be not so much about the violence and pillage that be makin’ piracy, ye know, piracy. It be more like when ye palaver with shipmates about what ye’d do should zombies walk the Earth. Ye know, ye decide who amongst ye which would be first to join the ranks of the dead and such. None really wants such a thing to be, but such diversions help the time pass on the long journey ‘cross the Sargasso Sea. Talk Like a Pirate Day be like that! Except there be less sniffin’ the salt air and more “updatin’ me Facebook status at work” involved. So hoist a tankard and give a hearty “Yarr!” as Britannica offers a look at pirates of every stripe.

These be modern pirates. Pirate fashion bain't what it used to be. Credit: Alex Cave—Royal Navy/AP

Yarr! This be more like it! Only Blackbeard could pull off the "six pistol abs" look. Credit: The British Library/Heritage-Images